Crawford avalanche. (Grayling, Mich.) 1879-19??, 1887-03-03

| assembled from thirty-one States and Terri
/ tories ON this anniversary Of the birth OF -The
| Father OF his Country" to view the situation OF
| pu blic affairs and advise proper action.
A general discomfort prevails ON the part OF
/ the wealth-producers; farmers are suffering
| from a DO, erty which has forced most OF them
| to mortgage their estates and prices OF products
| are so low as to offer no relief except through
bankruptcy. Laborers are sinking into great r
| and greater dependence; strikes are resorted 70
without bringing relief. because of the inability
| of the employers In many cases to pay living
wages, while more and moro are driven into the
/ streets. Businessmen find collections almost
| impossible meantime hundreds OF millions OF
| idle public money, which is needed for relief,
| ia locked up in the United States Treasury in
| grim mockery Of the Distress land monopoly
| hourishes as never before, and more and more
owners Of the soil are daily becoming tenants.
Great transportation corporations still succee d
| in extorting their profits upon watered stock
| through unjust charges The United States
| Senate has become an open scandal, It's seats
| being purchased by the rich in open defiance
| OF the popular will trifiing nsheries dispute
| is seized upon nn excuse for squandering
public money upon unnecessary military prep
arations, which are designed To breed spirit OF
war, to apo European despotlsm, and TO empty
tho Treasury without paying the public debt
| Under these and other alarming conditions
we appeal 70 sne people ol TINS wn1e c"snsry 10
| difference to the public welfare is responsible
| for this distress, and help us to organize u new
political party, not sectional but national, whose
| members shall be called Commoners. whose OBJ
ject shall be to repeal all class laws in favor OF
| tries by establishing the following principles
i. Land-Eyery human being possesses a nat
ural inalenhble right to have sufficient land for
| self-support, and we desire to secure to every
! industrious citizen home, rs the highest result
| OF free institutions To this end we demand q
graduated land tax on all large estates, especial
| ly those held for speculative or tenant pur-
poses the reclamation of all unearned land
grants; the immediate opening Of Oklahoma
| to homestead settlement; the purchase OF all
unoccupied Indian lands, and tho settlement
the lands
also laws preventing corporations from acquir-
ing real estate beyond the requirements OF their
business and alien ownership OF land. The sys-
TENS OF irrigation in the States and Territories
where necessary shall be under such public
control as shall secure the free and equitable
use OF the waters and franchise to the people.
2 Transportation-The means Of communion
| tion and transportation should be owned or
controlled by the people, as is the United States
postal system, and equitable rates everywhere
5. Money-The establishment of q National
| monetary system In the interest OF the producer
| instead OF the speculator and usurer, by which
a circulating medium in necessary quantity and
full legal tender shall be issued directly to the
people without the intervention Of banks, or loan
cd to citizens upon ample security ut low rate
| of interest to relieve them from the extortions
of usury and enable them to control the money
| supply. Postal-savings banks should be estab
lished While we have free coinage of gold we
should have free coinage OF silver. We demand
the prompt payment of the national debt, and
| condemn the further issue of interest-bearing
bonds either by the national Government or by
States, Territories, counties, or municipalities.
a. Labor Arbitration should take the place
of strikes and other injurious methods OF set
tling labor disputes; the letting of convict
labor to contractors be prohibited; the contract
system be abolished in public works the hours
OF labor in industrial establishments be re-
duced commensurate with the increase OF
production in labor-saving machinery; en-
ployes be protected from bodily injury; equal
pay being given for equal work for both sexes,
and labor, agricultural and cooperative assoc-
ations be fostered and Incorporated by law.
The foundation OF republic is the intelligence
OF its citizens, and children who are
driven into workshops, mines, and facto-
ries are deprived Of education which should be
secured to oil by proper legislation. We desire
| to see labor organizations extend throughout all
civilized countries until it shall be impossible
for despots 10 array the workingmen of one
country in war against their brothers OF another
country.
g. Soldiers and & # the
we demand for them justice before charity.
The purposely deprecated money paid them
during the war should be made equal in value
| to the gold paid the bondholders. The soldier
was promised coin or its equivalent, and was
paid in deprecated paper. The bondholder
| loaned the Government deprecated paper and
contracted to take it back, but was paid in gold
6. Income taxa graduated income tax is the
most equitable system of taxation. placing the
| burden of Government on those who can best
afford to pay instead OF laying it on the farmers
and producers, and exempting millionaire bond
| holders and corporations.
z. United States Senate-The capture of the
United States Senate by millionaires and tools
| of corporations who have no sympathy with
free institutions threatens the very existence of
| the Republic. We demand constitutional
| amendment making United States Senators
elective by q direct vote of the people.
| g. Chinese-State and National laws should
| be passed that shall effectually exclude from
America the Mongolian slave and Asiatic COM
petition.
o. Armed men-The employment Of bodies Of
armed men by private corporations should be
| A.
citizenship. irrespective OF sex.
IL Temperance-Excessiv wealth, resulting
| in luxury and idleness on the one hand and ex-
cessive toll and poverty on the other, lead to in
temperance and vice. The measures of reform
here demanded will prove to be the scientific
solution OF the temperance question.
THIRD DAY.
The election of a National Executive
| Committee was the principle, and about
the only work accomplished by the Conven-
| ton on the third and last day of its session
The Committe is constituted as follows:
Alabama. j. Woodall.
California;. E. Davis.
Dakota. o. Dean.
Illinois,. b. Clark.
Indiana-Thomas Gruelle.
| Iowa-W. II. Babb.
| Indian Territory-M. N. Lovin.
| Kansas-W. d. Vincent.
Kentucky-L. A. Wood.
Maryland-CharlesA A. Mettie.
Massachusetts, Johnston.
Missouri. Nolan.
| Nebraska-E. Hull.
New Hampshire George Carpenter.
New Jersey-W. d. Dubois.
New York;. /. Hoyt.
North Carolina-J. r. Winston.
| Ohie-Charles Jenkins.
| Oregon-E. w. Pike.
| Pennsylvania-John p Zane.
Rhode Island-Holmes w. Merton.
| Tennessee. r. Mills.
Texas--Capt. Sam Evans.
West Virginia.. X. Thompson.
Washington Territory-George n. Smith.
When the committee was being selected,
Col. Winston, of North Carolina, said his
delegation and that of Mississippi and
Arkansas could not name members unless
the convention would relegate 10 the
States the adoption or rejection of
certain parts of the platform. His
desire was TO make the sections
of the platform relating to land, transpor-
tation, money, labor, income tax, and
| Chinese labor the national platform, and
all of the different States to adopt or reject
the other sections as they chose. His plan
was adopted by the convention, thus re-
lieving the Southern States from being
committed to woman suffrage, which they
had fought unsuccessfully hitherto.
The convention elected Thomas M.
Gruelle, Of Indiana, Chairman of the Ma
tional Committee; i. Il. Mcdonald, of
Springfield, Ohio, Secretary; and Presi-
dent Streator, of Illinois, Treasurer.
The convention adjourned sine die.
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